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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

cause célèbre en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈkoʊz seɪˈlɛbɹ(ə)/ like French
  • (UK) audio
  • /-ˈlɛbɹə/ (US)
  • (US)
  • (US) audio
  • /ˈkɔz səˈlɛb/ (US)
  • /ˈkɔːz sɛˈlɛbɹ(ə)/ (UK)

Etymology

From French cause (“cause, case”) + célèbre (“famous”), in the title of an 18th-century compilation of famous legal cases, Causes célèbres.

Meanings

  1. (UK) An issue or incident (originally, a legal case) arousing widespread controversy or public debate.
    • As Musk has waged this pressure campaign, he has incessantly posted in support of the far right in Europe and their current causes célèbres. 2025 January 10, Ali Breland, “Elon Has Appointed Himself King of the World”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 11 Jan 2025:
    • Getting iced out by the tech giants turned Parler into a cause célèbre for conservatives who complained they were being censored, as well as a test case for the openness of the internet. 2021 February 15, Jack Nicas, “Parler, a Social Network That Attracted Trump Fans, Returns Online”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2021:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
causes célèbres Number=Plur lexicographic
cause celebre US, alternative lexicographic

Translations (13)

cmn 引起轟動的事件 /引起轰动的事件 (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · it caso famoso (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · fi kohuoikeudenkäynti (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · de berühmter Fall (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · nl cause célèbre (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · de Cause célèbre (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · pt acontecimento polémico (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · pl głośna sprawa (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · es tema de interés (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · fr fait polémique (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · ru гро́мкое де́ло (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · de aufsehenerregende Sache (issue or incident arousing heated public debate) · sv cause célèbre (issue or incident arousing heated public debate)

wikipedia: Nicolas-Toussaint Des Essarts